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From  Land  of  the  Veda 


JOEL  T.  JANVIER 


The  E'irst  Native  Preacher  of  Our 
Church  in  India. 


BY  REV.  WM.  BUTLER,  D.D. 

tS  I  passed  through  Allahabad  in  the  fall 
of  1856,  on  my  way  to  open  a  mission 
for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Oudh  and  Rohilkund,  we  were  entertained  by 
the  Presbyterian  missionaries,  who  welcomed 
us  most  warmly  as  fellow-workers  in  the  great 
task  of  conquering  India  for  Christ.  The 
topic  of  an  interpreter  and  helper  for  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  our  Mission  was  discussed,  and  the 
Presbyterian  brethren  consented  to  give  me  a 
young  man  who  had  been  trained  as  a  teacher 
and  who  had  a  fair  knowledge  of  English. 
Joel  was  called,  and  after  the  matter  was  pre¬ 
sented  declared  his  willingness  to  go  to  the 
new  field,  about  300  miles  to  the  northwest, 


Joel  T.  Janvier. 


3 


almost  as  foreign  to  him  as  India  to  our 
workers.  The  only  point  at  which  a  difficulty 
arose  was  whether  his  wife’s  mother,  a  widow, 
would  allow  her  daughter  to  go  so  far  away 
from  her.  In  The  Land  of  the  Veda  I  have 
tried  to  describe  the  pathetic  scene  when  I 
went  with  Joel  to  ask  for  this  permission. 
The  poor  woman,  with  the  tears  running  down 
her  face,  exclaimed,  “  The  Saviour  came  down 
from  heaven  to  give  himself  for  me,  and  why 
should  I  not  give  my  daughter  to  his  work  ?” 

This,  the  first  gift  from  the  heart  of  a  native 
woman  to  our  Mission,  has  proven  to  be  a 
valuable  one.  Joel’s  religion  at  this  time  was 
largely  a  matter  of  training  and  intellectual 
belief,  but  as  I  explained  to  him  the  witness 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  he  read  William 
Carvosso’s  life,  he  soon  came  to  see  its  neces¬ 
sity  and  to  seek  what  he  had  not.  Before  long 
he  found  it  and  became  a  joyful  Christian. 
For  forty  years  he  has  been  faithful,  and  now, 
in  his  old  age,  is  a  father  beloved  in  the  North 
India  Conference.  His  gentle  Christian  spirit 
in  dealing  with  questioning  Hindus  and  Mo¬ 
hammedans  has  tended  to  disarm  criticism 
and  to  win  them  for  Christ.  During  the  days 
of  the  mutiny  he  and  his  wife,  amid  great 


4 


Joel  T.  Janvier. 


peril,  kept  their  faith,  and  at  the  reopening  of 
the  work  he  joined  me  and  became  the  first 
native  preacher.  One  of  the  most  interesting 
events  of  my  return  to  India  in  1884  was  my 
meeting  with  Joel.  His  sight,  which  had  been 
failing  for  some  time,  had  completely  gone  a 
short  time  before,  and  his  greatest  grief  in  re¬ 
gard  to  this  affliction  was  that  it  deprived  him 
of  the  pleasure  of  looking  again  upon  the  face 
of  his  old  superintendent.  It  was  at  the  camp 
meeting  at  Chandausi,  and  I  arrived  at  the 
tent  just  as  he  was  leading  the  large  congrega¬ 
tion  in  prayer.  At  the  conclusion  I  stepped 
up,  and,  putting  my  hand  on  his  shoulder, 
“  Dear  Joel !  ”  That  was  enough,  and  in  an 
instant  we  were  clasped  in  each  other’s  arms, 
the  whole  audience  in  tears  of  sympathy  with 
our  joy. 

Joel  is  now  superannuated,  living  at  Bareilly, 
near  the  large  native  church.  A  recent  letter 
from  him  is  of  such  interest  that  I  have  been 
asked  to  share  part  of  it  with  the  large  circle 
of  friends  of  our  India  work.  His  son,  who 
writes  for  him,  is  struggling  to  complete  his 
college  education.  I  give  it  just  as  he  writes 
it  in  English,  without  any  correction  : 


Joel  T.  Janvier. 


5 


My  Dear  Dr.  Butler: 

To  write  you  a  letter  to  you  has  been  the  long- 
thought-for  idea  which  held  its  sway  so  supremely  over 
a  mind  so  closely  connected  with  that,  which  in  spite  of 
so  great  and  interminable  a  distance  is  always  so  deeply 
interested  in  the  affairs  of  one  with  whom  for  so  many 
weary  years  the  harmonious  work  of  our  Saviour  was 
triumphantly  carried  on,  with  that  energy  which  is  the 
result  of  the  direct  help  of  the  Almighty  in  cases  where¬ 
with  he  intends  to  manifest  his  own  divine  will  to  have 
the  predominating  power  over  every  heart. 

You  are,  my  dear  doctor,  to  your  great  joy  well  aware 
of  the  increasing  condition  of  our  Mission  work  in  India. 
.  .  .  It  is  almost  useless  to  talk  about  the  difficulties 
and  troubles  we  had  to  undergo  when  our  Mission  was 
a  babe  in  our  bosom,  for  to  our  great  joy  we  now  see  it 
a  grown-up  child,  a  living  soul.  The  desire  of  eating 
the  fruits  of  a  garden,  the  longing  for  obtaining  the 
gifts  of  labor,  is  by  nature  given  as  the  lot  of  every  man. 
The  discoverer  longs  to  remain  to  rule  the  land  he  has 
had  the  courageous  foresight  to  discover,  the  inventor 
wishes  to  have  the  prerogative  of  the  use  of  the  thing 
invented,  and  it  is  a  boon  for  a  man  to  see  a  thing 
flourishing,  the  arduous  beginning  of  which  rested  for 
some  time  Over  his  skill  and  intelligence.  So  it  is  with 
you.  The  Lord  God  of  hosts  has  so  kindly  given  us  the 
opportunity  of  seeing  this  widespread  work  consecrated 
for  his  own  divine  will.  May  God  abundantly  bless 
you  to  live  and  enjoy  this  privilege.  .  .  . 

Though  weak  and  feeble,  worn  down  by  the  furious 
waves  of  the  unfathomable  ocean  of  time,  pressed  under 
the  hard  rock  of  anxiety,  and  dragged  by  the  furious 
currents  of  calamity  and  sore  trouble  ;  still  continually 
examining  my  life,  still  burning  for  the  holy  faith,  still 
lurking  patiently,  shouting  for  victory  and  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  thus  strengthened  by  the  divine  help,  I 


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Joel  T.  Janvier. 


readily  find  solace  and  comfort  and  excessive  joy  in  him, 
and  led  to  the  pulpit  at  my  turn  occasionally  raise  my 
voice,  trembling  and  feeble,  to  the  throne  of  the  most 
high  eternal  God.  I  do  not  boast,  but  I  thank  my  God, 
from  whom  cometh  all  help,  that  he  brings  out  precious 
pearls  to  shine  for  his  glory  out  of  this  sightless  mechan¬ 
ism  preaching  in  the  old  Civil  Lines  pulpit.  .  .  . 

I  long  to  see  all  of  you,  but,  alas  !  this  my  desire  can¬ 
not  be  accomplished  ;  but  God  has  given  us  a  heart  to 
love  each  other  affectionately  as  long  as  we  live  in  this 
world,  and  that  love  which  is  a  part  of  that  unfathom¬ 
able  love  of  our  Creator  and  Father  is  not  at  all  lessened, 
nor  is  its  fire  quenched,  with  the  thought  of  long  and 
tiresome  distance.  The  bond  of  love  once  connected 
with  closer  ties  cannot  be  broken  by  the  lengthening 
chain  ;  the  dales  and  valleys  and  the  azure  main  have 
no  power  to  detract  the  efficacy  of  the  immortal  love. 
Though  we  don’t  see  each  other,  let  us  continue  this 
affection  as  we  grow  older  in  the  grace  of  our  Redeemer. 
I  journey  from  this  part  of  the  world,  and  you  from  the 
other,  but  our  goal  and  destination  is  the  same  .  sooner 
or  later  we  must  see  each  other  face  to  face. 

May  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  bless  and  keep  you  is  the 
prayer  of  your  loving  and  affectionate  biothei  in  Chiist, 

Joel  T.  Janvier. 


ONE  DOLLAR  AND  FIFTY  CENTS  PER  THOUSAND. 

Rindge  Literature  Department, 

150  FIFTH  AVE.,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 


